The first time I ever really noticed a disabled person, I was studying in the third grade. I saw some disabled people before, but I never really knew or cared about what those persons go through.
When a new student arrived in my third grade class, I thought he would just be a common student, but this student was different. His name was Derek and he had autism（孤独症）.He sometimes had random outbursts（随意的发作） during class and we would stand there, doing nothing because we didn't know why he was doing that. When he sat down at desk, we would try to get away from him. After class, we would play jokes on each other, imitating（模仿） Derek and laughing about it.
Then one day, Derek's mom came to our class and talked with us. She told us that Derek wasn't just having random outbursts—he was trying to communicate. Then she chose a volunteer and filled that person's mouth with soft sweets. When we found the volunteer had great trouble in trying to speak, the mother explained that was Derek was going through every day. We all understand her meaning.
After this talk, no one tried to make fun of Derek or run away from him. We accepted his outbursts in class and he became one of our friends. Having a class with Derek has taught me to have an open mind to those who are different from us. My experience in having an autistic classmate has provided me with a good lesson.
Now whenever I meet a family with a child who's behaving differently. I always remember what I have learned in my third grade class and go up to him or her.
